“We’re a village side. We rely on the people from Bishops Cleeve to back the club. It’s a community club.
“Bishops Cleeve is pointing itself in the in the right direction. We need the support of the local community. We’re trying to encourage as many people as we can to get down there to get involved.”
Bishops Cleeve manager Paul Collicutt has given 18 years of service to the club in two different spells.
In that time, Collicutt has seen massive improvement at the club, both on and off the pitch.
Work began in September 2021 to install a new 4g AstroTurf, all-weather pitch, which has helped the club massively both in the short and long run.
“In the time I’ve been at Cleeve, I’ve seen the other side of it, where we used to play on grass pitches. I think once we went 10 weeks without a game, we had so much rain. And then at the end of the season, you are playing three or four times a week, which is absolutely ridiculous. We used to change before games in terrapins. The clubhouse was basically a building, and everything was put in there. Over the years, there’s been big, big changes here.
“I’ve been here now for probably about 20-25 years, and we’ve made great strides in that time. “You need the club to be going in the right direction off the field, as well as on it. You’ve got to try and work the two together.”
Alongside the pitch, massive upgrades have been made to the facilities, with new changing rooms, a bar, food van options, alongside a loft area now present at Kayte Lane.
“I’m with a club, with Cleeve. We’re growing. Hopefully we’re growing in the right way. It’s like anything, it takes time. Rome wasn’t built in a day, as my mother used to tell me. Gradually, every season, we’re trying to do a little bit more off the field. It takes time to do that.”
Speaking about the upcoming fixture against Dorchester Town, Collicutt took time to personally reflect on the club’s achievements:
“We are a village side, and I’ve only just put the phone down to another news reporter who just basically said he can’t believe Bishops Cleeve are playing Dorchester Town tomorrow night. He said, ‘Crikey, the club has come so far,’ and sometimes you have to stop and pinch yourself to realise how far this club has come.”
